The invention relates to a portable and self-contained apparatus for analyzing in situ a liquid or solid substance which may in particular be in the form of surface deposits.
Generally, in the panoply of chemical weapons are included substances of very high toxicity, intended to be spread (for example from a bomb) in the form of fine droplets or fine particles spaced relatively to each other, simple contact of one of these droplets or these particles with the skin or a mucous membrane of an individual being possibly dangerous for this individual. The same goes for certain contaminants of industrial origin.
It is then important to be able to detect the existence of contaminated zones and rapidly determine the composition of the toxic substance, as well as the density with which the droplets or particles have been spread.
Now, at the present time, no self-contained portable apparatus exists, of small size, which makes it possible to obtain instantaneously all this information on the site, the solution envisaged consisting in taking samples and then sending them to a laboratory for analysis.
On the other hand, portable apparatus are at present produced for analyzing a gaseous composition for detecting the presence of and analyzing polluting or dangerous gases.
The invention proposes then filling the gap mentioned above by associating a portable gas composition analysis apparatus and a device for taking the sample and vaporizing the substance to be analyzed, it being understood that in this case the vapours produced by the sample taking device are used by the analysis apparatus as gas composition to be analyzed.
The problem which then arises concerns the design of a sample taking device for taking a sample of the substance to be analyzed then evaporating it so that the vapour released may be totally sucked in by the analysis apparatus.
To this problem is added the one due to the fact that these different operations must be carried out while avoiding any possibility of contamination which would lead to falsifying the analysis made subsequently.